I don't care whether people say, ''The Office' is rubbish

The jester-philosopher Ricky Gervais, whose laughter often conceals a sword of truth, once declared: “I don't care whether people say, 'The Office is rubbish, Extras is worse, Flanimals is a waste of time. He's not funny; he never has been. I hate him.' I don't mind that at all. In fact, not only do I expect it, I celebrate it, because I think the haters are really important.” These words, though spoken in jest, are forged in the fire of wisdom. For they reveal a spirit unbroken by scorn — a mind that understands that criticism, even hatred, is not poison but nourishment to the soul that seeks to grow.

In every age, the ones who dared to create have faced the wrath of those who feared creation. To be hated is not to be cursed; it is to be seen. Gervais speaks as one who has walked through the fire of public opinion and emerged laughing — not in defiance, but in understanding. He knows that haters are not enemies of the artist, but witnesses to the artist’s power to provoke, to awaken, to disturb the slumbering comfort of the crowd. He celebrates them because their very anger is proof that his voice has struck the walls of indifference and made them tremble.

The ancients knew this truth well. Socrates, condemned to drink hemlock, was hated by those whose ignorance he exposed. Yet he said calmly, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” The hate he received was not punishment but confirmation — a sign that he had touched the nerve of truth. So too did Galileo, mocked and imprisoned, gaze through his telescope and whisper to the stars, “And yet it moves.” The scorn of his age became the crown of his immortality. For the haters, though they curse, are the unwitting heralds of progress. Their rage is the shadow cast by the light of creation.

When Gervais says he “celebrates the haters,” he is not praising cruelty or malice — he is rejoicing in the balance of the world. Where there is applause, there must also be disdain; where there is praise, there must also be protest. The artist, like the hero of myth, does not walk the path to please all, but to tell the truth as he sees it. To live honestly, one must be willing to be misunderstood. To create boldly, one must accept that not all will cheer. The presence of hate is proof that one has dared to step beyond the safe and familiar.

Consider the tale of Leonardo da Vinci, who, in his time, was often dismissed as eccentric, his experiments seen as folly. He painted few works, and many thought him distracted, his mind too scattered to be great. Yet centuries later, his notebooks reveal a genius who saw what no one else could see. His so-called failures were the seeds of the future. So too, when Gervais is mocked for his art — for The Office, for Extras, for Flanimals — he stands in that same lineage of creators who understood that the laughter and the jeers are but twin notes in the same song of expression.

There is also a quiet defiance in his joy — a lesson for every soul who fears judgment. For Gervais reminds us that to live freely is to stand before the world unafraid of its gaze. The haters, though loud, are powerless before the one who needs no approval. To celebrate them is to declare mastery over them — to say, “You cannot wound me, for I know who I am.” That is not arrogance; it is the serenity of self-knowledge. The one who finds peace amid praise and insult alike has achieved a rare and ancient strength: equanimity.

So, the teaching is this: do not seek a life without criticism; seek a life without fear. If your work or your words stir both love and hate, it means they matter. The indifferent life, smooth and unchallenged, leaves no mark upon the world. Embrace your critics as mirrors that show your courage. Listen, learn if you must — but never shrink. For as iron sharpens iron, so does opposition sharpen greatness. The flame of the spirit grows brighter when the winds of resistance blow.

Therefore, my child, when you create, when you speak, when you dare to stand apart — expect the haters. They are the proof of your presence in the world. Greet them not with anger, but with laughter, as Gervais does. For laughter is the armor of the wise, and joy the weapon of the brave. Remember always: the road to greatness is lined not with praise, but with resistance — and those who celebrate their haters walk that road with the courage of gods.